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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25635844">Strangers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgles123/pseuds/Higgles123'>Higgles123</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Taboo (TV 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:55:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,287</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25635844</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgles123/pseuds/Higgles123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>James Delaney doesn't like it when he doesn't know everything there is to know about someone. Especially someone as mysterious as her</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James Delaney/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><blockquote>
<p></p><div>
<p></p><div class="yiv4712284143yahoo-style-wrap">
<p></p><div>
<p></p><div><p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp1">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">She was hiding something and no matter how hard James tried, he couldn’t figure it out. The oval face with enchanting hazel eyes hid secrets that he ached to uncover and she didn’t shy away from him the way the other girls did. She was untouched, he knew this because Helga kept her that wha. For what reason he didn’t know. It was yet another thing that he craved knowledge of. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Are you here to fuck one of the girls today or just frighten them?” Helga asked, breaking him from his thoughts. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">He eyed the gaggle of girls across the room and he knew that despite their fear of him, they desired him; they desired him because they viewed him as mysterious. All of them except her. She was indifferent to him.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“There is only one I want but you keep her from me,” he murmured, his eyes piercing Helga’s. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Yet you continue to ask for her,” Helga smirked. “I have told you countless times, James, that Ariadne can’t be bought.” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Everything and everyone can be bought... for the right price.” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Helga pulled a wry face and James struggled to control his displeasure. Glancing across the room, his eyes met with the girl’s and the way she looked at him sent a shiver down his spine. She looked at him like she could see the darkness inside of him yet had no fear of it. She looked at him as though she understood it. But there was no way this slip of a girl understood anything about him. No one did. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Ria, come quickly?” Winter burst through the door like the devil was on her heels. “I’ve found some more.” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“More what?” James questioned Helga as his eyes watched Ariadne’s attention shift to the younger girl who he himself had acquired a reluctant fondness for. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Helga said nothing but there was a sadness in her eyes that James was not accustomed to seeing in the woman. Winter and Ariadne took off and before James even acknowledged that his feet were moving, he was following closely behind them ignoring Helga’s shouts for him to give up on the girl. Weaving the crowds on spry feet with long dark hair flowing out behind her like a nymph in water, James didn’t lose sight of her for even a minute. He wasn’t aware of the curious glances in his direction or the courteous nods from those who wished to stay on his good side as he strode purposefully through the crowds with far less delicacy than the girl in front of him. Perhaps girl was truly the wrong word to use to describe her for the figure that was hidden beneath the clothes she wore couldn’t be disguised as that of a woman. Ariadne and Winter suddenly veered off down an alleyway and when James turned in the same direction they were gone. But only momentarily until he had successfully followed the sound of Winter’s voice, a lot more animated than he had ever heard it before. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">He found the girls inside a derelict outhouse with no windows, but he could see just enough from the light outside to make out their frames huddled over a wooden crate filled with straw. Winter looked up when she saw his ominous shadow fill the doorway and she smiled. James did little more than bob his head in greeting, yet beneath the brim of his hat his blue eyes softened slightly upon the young girl. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Just what are you two doing then?” he asked, stepping closer, his eyes falling upon Ariadne, noticing the way she hunched over the crate, shielding the contents from him which only piqued his curiosity further. Taking a few more steps forward until he was towering over them, he gaze dropped to the wooden box and he heard the sound of gentle mewling and he crouched down. “Let me see.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Why should I?” Ariadne asked, her voice soft yet her eyes full of wariness and distrust. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I’m not accustomed to having to explain myself, Ariadne,” he answered cooly, noticing the way her nostrils flared slightly when he spoke her name. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Perhaps you should get used it,” she answered, her eyes daring him silently to punish her for her outspokenness. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Let him see, Ria,” Winter ordered. “He’s my friend.” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Ariadne cast Winter a look of disbelief but with a reluctant sigh she sat back, allowing James to see two tiny kittens who couldn’t have been more than a few hours old. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Their mother’s over there,” Winter pointed across the room. “Dead.” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“And you intend to do what with these?” James asked although he had a feeling he already knew the answer. “They won’t survive without their mother.” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“They will,” Winter answered confidently. “They will, Ria won’t they?” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“They will,” she smiled but James could see a frisson of doubt in her eyes that Winter hadn’t or perhaps had refused to. “But we must get them back home and into the warm.” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Milk, they’ll need milk too, won’t they?” Winter said as Ariadne cooed softly to the mewling kittens. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Yes,” Ariadne nodded. “We’ll need something to feed them from. Go and ask Mr Ormerod if he has any small paint brushes.” </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Paint brushes?” Winter frowned. “What will we do with paint brushes?”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“You’ll see. Now go on.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Ariadne turned her back to James, something many grown men wouldn’t have the guts to do, and walked over to the dead cat with a sad expression on her face. One would have thought the feline meant something to her with the emotion that oozed from her, the smell seeping up into James’ nostrils and making him feel things he didn’t wish to. Crouching down, she pulled a small pouch from her pocket and as she sprinkled some of the contents, James realised it was tobacco. He couldn’t make out the words she muttered but when she stood up and turned back around to pick up the crate of kittens, he noticed a single tear rolling down her cheek. She walked past him fearlessly and a frisson of energy shot up James’ arm as hers brushed against his. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Goodbye, Mr Delaney.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">And she was gone. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ………..</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">The kittens were thriving. Now four days old and their eyes were beginning to open. Winter was enamoured with them and despite Helga’s complaints about not wanting the verminous little creatures in her whorehouse she was secretly relieved to see her daughter’s attention on something other than James Delaney. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“How long will we have to feed them from paint brushes?” Winter asked, grinning when the ginger kitten in her hands made a noise of despair when he had sucked the last drop of milk from the tiny brush she held to his mouth. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Just until they’re able to drink from something bigger,” Ariadne smiled as she set down the tabby kitten in her hands back down into its crate where it continued to sleep in a milk drunken stupor. “I’m going out now Winter, but I trust you’ll take good care of Bubble and Squeak until I get back?”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Yes,” Winter nodded without any hesitation. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">With a nod, Ariadne dived under the bed she shared with the younger girl and pulled out her satchel. She caught a glimpse of the full moon through the open curtains and she smiled to herself, eager to get outdoors and underneath it. Hurrying down the stairs, ignoring the sounds of panting and moaning and laughing that echoed through the building, she reached the front door and opened it. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Be careful,” she heard Helga say from behind her.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I always am,” she smiled. </span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds2"><br/>
</span>
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Helga peered out of the doorway to watch Ariadne’s cloaked figure untie the brown horse from the post opposite and ride off down the darkened street, and as she was about to close the door she heard a noise from round the corner. Following the noise, she rolled her eyes, expecting to see some drunken lout but the street was empty. She turned on her heel to go back inside and found her path blocked by a familiar figure.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“It’s dangerous for ladies out at night on their own,” James muttered, his hand reaching out to take Helga’s arm to steady her.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“It’s a good job I’m not a lady then,” Helga murmured, her eyes roving James’ face.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Where’s she gone?”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Who?”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“You know who,” James wasn’t in the mood for Helga’s games tonight. “Tell me where she’s going.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“And if I don’t?” Helga didn’t fear James Delaney.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“You will,” James blinked slowly, his fingers squeezing the arms they were wrapped around even tighter until the woman grimaced.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I told you that you can’t have her,” Helga hissed.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I just want to know where she’s gone,” James answered cooly. “I said nothing about having her.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Not out loud,” Helga sneered. “But your eyes say otherwise. I gave her mother my word that Ariadne wouldn’t be like us.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Usually you are not so averse to breaking promises, Helga. Especially not when money is concerned.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“No amount of money would make me break this promise,” Helga was adamant. “But if you swear to me that you will not lay a finger on her then I will tell you where she’s gone.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“You have my word.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ……….. ………..</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Ariadne glanced around once more before she stepped out of her dress. The frigid air bit at her naked body and she looked up to the starry night sky to focus on the feeling of the grass beneath her feet, grounding her to earth. She cast her circle, calling in the quarters and asking the guardians to bless and protect her while she worked. Sitting down cross legged, she closed her eyes and welcomed the Goddess and the spirits of light to join her. Time slowed down as shetried to make sense of the visions and messages that swirled through her mind until she felt the familiar prickle on the back of her neck. <em>She’s here.</em> But Ariadne did not need the spirits to whisper it in order for her to know, because she could always feel when the woman was nearby. The woman in black who laughed and cried and tried her best to scare Ariadne away but did not succeed. Ariadne knew that she finally ready to do more than stand her ground now.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Using the ash from her fire, she drew sigils of protection upon her bare body, imagining them searing themselves into her skin, never to be removed and then with one final blessing to the Goddess she closed down the circle. Striding forward, she slipped into the ice cold lake, gasping when the water encompassed her body. She dunked her head under the water, holding her breath for as long as she could while she imagined the water washing away more than just the dirt on her skin. Away floated the tendrils of London darkness that grabbed at her with leering fingers and she succumbed to the feeling of being cleansed once more. When she surfaced, the woman was stood before her just as had expected. Ariadne stood unflinching, watching and waiting for the spirit to make the first move. The woman in black walked in a slow circle around Ariadne, who refused to react other than to let her eyes follow the spirit. When the woman reached forward and screamed, her hands grabbing Ariadne around the throat she still refused to react. She had trust that she was protected and she believed that the spirit’s aggression was actually anguish. She could feel the woman’s pain as though it was her own.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Ariadne saw an image flash through her mind; the spirit before her drowning a baby in this very lake, cackling maniacally as the baby stilled. The baby then disappeared and floating in the lake was James Delaney; naked and bleeding. On his back was a mark she recognised and she realised that this had perhaps been the purpose of everything all along. He held out a hand desperately and Ariadne reached down to take it, but when their hands met she was pulled into the water and there was no escape. Water bubbled around her as everything started to turn black and suddenly she felt herself being pulled to the surface. Gasping, she coughed up the water, barely registering the way her skin felt against his. She looked up into James Delaney’s face and frowned, her eyes searching around them wildly for the spirit.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“She’s gone,” he murmured, his eyes unreadable as they tried to read her own.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“She’ll be back,” Ariadne whispered. “There’s a reason she wants me and now I see that you are part of that reason. She’s your mother after all.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">James said nothing. He narrowed his eyes and Ariadne could see that he didn’t know what to make of this unexpected turn of events. Never before had she been affected by the intensity in those blue orbs but under the full moon they burned her, and with confusion evident in her face she turned to walk away from him. James’ hand reached out to stop her and when she felt his naked body against the back of hers, she was frozen still. Her skin broke out in goosebumps when he moved her hair away from her neck and she heard his intake of breath.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“Who are you?” James whispered, his fingers lightly tracing the Sankofa that was burned into the skin of her shoulder, smaller yet identical to his own.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">Ariadne closed her eyes, unable to comprehend the feelings his touch stirred within her and when he turned her to face him she offered no resistance. Their bare chests were cemented together and Ariadne could feel James’ breath upon her cheek. The look in his eyes entranced her.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I asked you a question, Ariadne. Who are you that you should bare a mark such as this?”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “My mother did it before she died. She said that I would need it and that it was part of my lineage.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“And you think that is a plausible explanation?” he scoffed. “I’m not stupid and you would be wise to remember that.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I don’t care who or what you are, James Delaney because I’m not scared of you,” Ariadne said firmly. “But I would not lie to you… not when I have no need to.”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">James’ eyes bore into her own; seeking, searching for answers to the myriad of questions he had at seeing the mark upon her skin.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I too bare this mark upon my skin,” he muttered.</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I know,” she murmured. “I saw it when you were in the water. Your mother showed me, and that was when I realised that our paths were always supposed to cross. But what still eludes is my is why?”</span>
          </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp3"> </p>
<p class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839dp2">
            <span class="yiv4712284143ydpde39839ds1">“I believe that is something we will figure out together,” James brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. It was an intimate gesture and one completely unexpected for the man who they called the Devil. “But until we discover the reason, I believe I may yet have a use for you.”</span>
          </p></div></div></div></div></blockquote>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So this was originally just a one shot but I've been rewatching Taboo and this smutty piece just pretty much wrote itself :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">She slept beside him; her breathing soft and steady. Her raven hair was down just as he liked it; fanned out across the pillow apart from one small section that had fallen across her face in her slumber. With a gentleness that few had ever known from James Delaney, he brushed the hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear, his lips forming a hint of a smile and when she made a noise and snuggled down further beneath the duvet. Her shoulder peeked out and with a light touch, he traced the Sankofa that was etched there, closing his eyes when he felt the familiar feelings it awoke within him. Something was different this time though. This was more than an ache in his loins and the need to touch every part of her; this was something deeper. The hand touching her shoulder began to tingle almost painfully and his mind began to take him somewhere he had no control over.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>James’ bare feet didn’t feel the cold of the thick blanket of snow on the ground. It was beautiful; like a scene from a painting. But then he turned and saw it; the crimson patches that marred the virgin snow and the bodies that lay unmoving. As he continued to walk he saw a woman and a tiny child, no older than two, stood beside one of the bodies. The woman howled like a banshee; her grief raw and painful even to a man as hardened as he was. The child, a girl, stood almost stoically, clutching her mother’s hand and staring down at the body with little expression in her dark eyes. James knew those eyes; he would recognise them anywhere. Ariadne’s eyes. </em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>Suddenly he found himself elsewhere. The room was dark and James recognised the sounds of moans and grunts immediately. The whorehouse may have changed building but its very essence remained the same. This room though felt different. Sadness enveloped it and at it’s very core was a girl on the cusp of womanhood. Ariadne lay beside her mother in bed, stroking the woman’s cheek and allowing tears to roll down her face with every laboured breath the older woman took.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“Do you remember when we came over on the big ship?” Ariadne’s voice was as soft then as now. “I was so sick but you whispered your prayers over me and I got better, didn’t I?”</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>James could see inside her memory; could smell the salty sea air mixed with the sweat of bodies, and it filled his throat with bile. Ariadne had indeed been poorly. Vomit escaped her while she moaned and writhed, trying to fight off the fever that tore through her little body. Her mother held her, whispered quiet words and prayers, unable to do anything to save her only child. Unable to do anything other than rely on hope.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“Why can’t my prayers make you better, Mama?” she whispered, her eyes searching her mother’s face for an answer.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“My Ria,” her mother smiled weakly. “He’s waiting for me; I can see him. They’re all waiting for me.”</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“What about me?” Ariadne’s voice cracked.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“Not you, my love,” her mother coughed before inhaling a breath that crackled and wheezed almost painfully to James’ ears. “It’s not your time yet.”</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“But I don’t want to stay here alone, Mama.”</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“You won’t be alone,” the woman promised. “Helga will look after you, sweet girl, and I will be with you always.”</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“Please don’t leave me,” she begged pitifully.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>Ariadne’s mother looked at her sadly; her life force draining out of her by the second. Even though she proclaimed to be ready to leave, James could feel her clutching desperately at her daughter even as death dragged her away in its tight grasp.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“Mama, I’m scared,” Ariadne admitted.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“I know, my brave girl,” her mother leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead with blueing lips. “But you remember what I gave you when you were small?”</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>Ariadne nodded as her mother’s hand drifted to touch the carving on her shoulder. Ariadne closed her eyes as more tears fell. Her mother promised her that there was a reason for the small yet proud bird that was etched into her skin, but she couldn’t tell Ariadne why. All she would say that was that the spirits had guided her hands and that Ariadne was to trust their wisdom.</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“I love you, Mama.”</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">
    <em>“And I love you, Ria.”</em>
  </span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p3"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">James opened his eyes and a single tear rolled down his face, dripping onto Ariadne’s bare skin. She stirred as he continued to watch her, unable to forget what he had seen in his visions; unable to forget the pain of her memories.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“James?” she whispered, her voice croaky as she opened her eyes. “Is everything alright?”</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“Hmm,” he grunted softly, pressing his lips to her shoulder and then to her mouth gently.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">Her hand reached up tentatively to cradle his head as he deepened the kiss. He couldn’t help but smile against her soft lips when she climbed on top of him and her raven hair cascaded over them both like a waterfall. She ground herself against his hard length drawing a groan from them both, and when he cupped her full breasts and brushed his thumbs against her nipples she bit at his lip. James growled when she pulled back slightly and he could see blood on her lips; <em>his</em> blood. His eyes were dark with hunger and when he rolled her over onto her back, she offered no resistance. It would have been futile anyway.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“James,” she gasped as his mouth was on her centre immediately; licking and sucking until she couldn’t take any more. “Please.”</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“Mm,” he groaned against her heat, the vibration making her head arch back against the soft, goose feather pillow. “Beg for it, my little bird. Beg for me to let you cum.”</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“James, please,” she begged without hesitation, her fingers grasping at the sheet.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“Tell me that this cunt belongs to me, little bird,” he murmured.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“James,” she panted.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“Tell me,” he demanded, lifting his head to pierce her eyes with his own. “Say it, Ria.”</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“Please James,” she rubbed her legs together in a vain attempt to bring herself to completion.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">But with a tut, James held her legs open and crawled up her body menacingly. It was that look in his eyes that truly made him look like his namesake; the devil Delaney, but Ariadne wasn’t afraid of him. Far from it.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“This cunt is mine,” he bit her neck, licking at her blood he drew, groaning at the taste of it mingled with the taste of slick, wet heat. His fingers plunged inside of her with a roughness that brought tears to her eyes. “And if you continue to misbehave, I shall have to punish you. But you’d like that wouldn’t you, my little bird? Hmm.”</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">James hissed when her nails scratched at his back in an effort to fight against his control, and he grinned. He knew just how to turn his sweet and gentle Ariadne into a lioness who tussled with him for dominance. But tonight he would not allow her to have it.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“On your knees,” he ordered in a voice that broached no argument, and despite a hint of resistance in her hazel eyes, his little bird did as she was told.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">Winding her ebony hair around his wrist, he tugged her head backwards as he pushed inside of her without warning. He moved inside of her slowly, deeply and the guttural noises he drew from her clouded his vision with a red mist that had nothing to do with anger. He wanted to own her, possess her; show that she was the light to his dark and that together they were unstoppable. Holding her body upright against his own, he pounded into her like the savage he was, squeezing at her breasts, nipping at her shoulder; marking her in every way he could. Reaching down he pinched her clit, licking at her neck when she threw her head back against him. His finger circled the sensitive nub with an agonisingly delicious rhythm and she clawed at his arm as her hips moved of their own accord.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“Hm,” James grunted, stilling in his movements to watch her as she used him shamelessly to reach her orgasm. He nipped at her earlobe as her walls clenched around him, drawing seed from the tip of his member. “Your cunt is so tight, Ria. It always welcomes me so well, doesn’t it, hmm?”</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">Ariadne couldn’t speak; she could do nothing put pant as tremors still wracked her body. James didn’t wait for her breathing to ease, he used her as she used him and fucked her like an animal until he roared with his own release.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">Later, as they once again lay side by side in their small bed in their cabin, with only the sound of the gentle waves of the ocean outside to break the quiet, James placed his hand upon Ariadne’s rounded stomach. He smiled to himself when the baby inside kicked and squirmed against his palm.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“I fear our child will have my temperament,” he murmured, leaning down to press his bearded lips to Ariadne’s stomach. “I had hoped you would favour your mother, little one, but as each day passes and you grow more lively, I fear otherwise.”</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“I fear it also,” Ariadne smiled, brushing James’ hair back from his forehead as she watched him kiss her swollen belly once more.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“You do, hmm?” James frowned at her playfully.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">“I love you, James,” she whispered, cupping his cheek and looking down at him an adoration such as he didn’t deserve from her. Yet he took it because he was a selfish man, and he was a man who realised the love he once believed he felt for Zilpha was a poisonous mockery of what love truly was.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">The future for James Delaney was far from certain, however his love for Ariadne and their unborn child was unwavering. Her love strengthened him in ways he didn’t understand and most likely never would. Their paths were intertwined in a way that neither would fully comprehend but they didn’t need to.</span>
</p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p2"> </p>
<p class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9p1">
  <span class="yiv0424946813ydpbb8058e9s1">James Delaney once believed that he had a use for Ariadne and that use would be in body only. What he had failed to realise was that she had captured his soul from the first time he met her. It was only now he knew that he would be with her not only in this life, but in the next also.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>